


can i call you tonight?

by existentialecho



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Eventual Fluff, Falling In Love, Highschool AU, I Ship It, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Party, Phone Calls & Telephones, Power Outage, Skatepark, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:28:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29279967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/existentialecho/pseuds/existentialecho
Summary: George and Karl simp for skater boys and gay panic ensues
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Karl Jacobs/Sapnap
Comments: 42
Kudos: 317





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ig if this chapter goes well i'll keep writing... i have a lot of ideas for this story so I look forward to continuing this :)

“Which color should I get, George?” Karl glanced down the snack aisle at the brunette boy. 

“We’ve been over this a million times, Karl, monster is sorted by flavour, not colour.” George said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

“You would think that,” Karl gave George a goofy smile as George came to a stop beside him to look through the smudged glass fridge door at the energy drink options. George rolled his eyes and they settled into a contemplative silence. “I think I’m gonna go with white,” Karl finally decided. He opened the glass door and grabbed one of the white monster energy drinks.

“Again?! I swear you pick that one every week…” 

“Oh yeah? Which one are you gonna get then?” Karl held the glass door open for him. 

“I think I’m gonna go with ‘Fiesta Sunrise,’” George said as he grabbed it off the shelf.

“I think you mean teal,” Karl smirked. They made their way to the front counter and after a brief argument over whose turn it was to pay, Karl begrudgingly pulled out his wallet. They made their way back out the front door and were soon on their way down the road in Karl’s beat-up sedan. As with every Friday of the past month they were headed to the skate park. It was a short drive from the highschool to the gas station (which Karl insisted had the cheapest monster prices of any other around) to the park. George leaned against the car door and watched the neighborhoods and streetlights fly by. 

The skatepark was one of the first places Karl took George to when he moved to America. The first Friday George was there Karl had introduced him to the park, insisting that George would still enjoy it even if he wasn't looking for a boy. George had blushed at this and hesitantly agreed to check it out. It had quickly become one of their favorite traditions. Oddly enough, neither of them knew how to skate.

Now, there are two types of people who go to skateparks: the skaters, and the people there to watch the skaters. George and Karl fell into the latter category. George had originally gone because Karl liked to watch the skater boys, but George soon found himself intrigued by the skaters as well, although he would never admit it to himself. 

George’s life had changed so much in the past couple months, sometimes it seemed like he was still trying to catch up. He had been living with Karl for about two months now, and they had gotten along better than George could’ve ever hoped. Becoming a foreign exchange student had never been in his plans, but had somehow gotten roped into it and found himself moving into Karl’s house in a small, rural town in America. It had been a whirlwind, but George was thankful for the situation. America wasn't too bad, and everyone thought he was cool and mysterious, or at least that's what Karl insisted. George was pretty convinced Karl was lying about that. 

His train of thought screeched to a halt when Karl turned off the car and slammed his door shut as they arrived at the park. George blinked himself back into reality before quickly following suit. 

“What mood are we in today, George?” Karl grinned as George caught up and they started making their way towards their usual spot. “I was thinking either ‘falling in love with everyone I see’ or ‘never talking to another human again.’” Karl looped his arm in Georges as he spoke.

“Oh please,” George rolled his eyes, paying more attention to the paved path than Karl’s question. The skate park was in the middle of a bigger park, and it was only a short walk from the parking lot. 

“I'm serious!” Karl insisted, not looking serious at all. George and Karls ‘usual spot’ was a strip of grass populated by benches and a couple trees on the side of the cement slopes. It happened to be slightly above the rest of the park, giving the boys a perfect view. The park was buzzing with activity, but their spot was left wide open, just waiting to be claimed 

Karl sat down promptly as they reached the shade of a tree, dragging George down with him. George scanned the park, seeing many of the people that were usually there on Friday afternoons, along with a few new faces. He stretched out his legs and leaned back against the tree, Karl sitting cross-legged next to him. Of course, George and Karl had never spoken to any of the skaters at the park, both of them were much too nervous for that. Plus, they had no rational reason for being at the park. Hell, George had never even touched a skateboard. 

As usual, Karl and George jokingly argued, talking about anything and everything between sips of monster. Karl occasionally made casual observations about which skater boys were cute, and George half-heartedly acknowledged the comments. After an hour and half, George was about to ask Karl if they should leave, when the words died in his throat as a new group entered the park directly across from them. Karl babbled on, but George found himself awestruck as he stared across the lot. 

The group consisted of a boy with messy black hair, loosely held back by a white headband, a girl with a radiant smile and bright pink hair, a taller boy with a maroon beanie playfully dangling the pink-haired girl’s phone over her head, and a tall blonde and short brunette deep in a seemingly very important conversation trailing behind them. George could not have told you a single detail about any of them, however, because his eyes were immediately drawn to a tall, blonde boy in the middle of the group. 

“What’re you-” Karl began, noting George’s odd expression before stopping short as he too noticed the new group

“They're…” Karl started

“...hot,” George finished, a dazed, slightly shocked expression on his face. He didn’t realize he had said it out loud until Karl let out a cackle that finally brought George back to earth. He snapped his head down as he felt the heat rush to his face.

“George, what?!” Karl giggled, “You did not just say that. We’ve been to this park for what? At least five times now? And you’re finally taking interest in someone?! You're never going to live this down.” 

Before George could respond, his eyes flickered back up across the park, only to find the blonde boy already smirking at him. George felt his stomach drop as the piercing green eyes caused him to go even redder. His eyes dropped almost immediately, his mind reeling at the intense gaze. His mind vaguely registered Karl screeching beside him and slowly met Karl's gaze, mouth still agape. 

“What is up with you dude?” Karl cackled, still grinning like an idiot. 

“Shut up,” was all George could manage. 

“Come on George, which one is it?” Karl’s gaze darted between still blushed brunette and the new group.

“Shut up! I wasn’t even looking at him!” George froze as he realized what he had said.

“HIM?!” Karl said, grinning even wider, which George had thought was impossible. 

“ I did not say that! I said them!” George hopelessly flailed. Karl rolled his eyes but he let the comment slide. George liking anyone in the first place was enough for him to tease George about for now. 

“Oh my God, George, I can't believe this is actually happening. We have to get you to meet them,” Karl gushed, putting sarcastic emphasis on the last word. George didn't even notice the jab as he buried his head in his sweatshirt. His mind was still racing as he tried to calm down. Why had eye contact made him so out of breath? What made this boy different from everyone else at the park? And why, oh why was he blushing so hard?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't excpect anyone to actually read this so thanks so much for that. I speedran this chapter thanks to you guys.  
> This fic is *loosely* based on the song "Can I call You Tonight?" by Dayglow
> 
> enjoy :)

George spent the rest of the afternoon completely avoiding looking at the new group. Karl gave up teasing him after a bit (but only on the condition that he would bug George about it later) and was quickly distracted by other topics of conversation.

George refused to look at the blonde boy after what happened the first time. His eyes were automatically drawn to the group, who were just messing around, talking and skating, so he had to actively keep his gaze on anything else. George decided to take new interest in the ground and his shoes and the sky instead. His mind was reeling, and he was barely present in his conversation with Karl. His thoughts flew to increasingly panicked observations. Why had the boy having such an affect on him? Why was hot the first word that came to his head? And the one question that kept returning to his mind over and over: Why had the boy been looking back?

Eventually, Karl grew tired of completely carrying the conversation. The sun was starting to set anyways, and they never stayed at the skatepark after dark.

“You ready to go?” he asked, already picking up his stuff. George nodded a bit vacantly and started to get up. Karl gestured for George to help him up and George gave him his hands and pulled him up. “You okay, dude?” Karl quipped, squeezing George’s hand before letting go.

Karl’s change in tone brought George out of his stupor. “What?” he said glancing at Karl’s slightly concerned face, “Oh, yeah sorry don't worry about me.” Completely unbelievable but Karl let it slide. George hadn’t realized he was being quieter than usual, but a wave of guilt hit him as he realized how vacant he had been in the last hour.

Karl looped his arm through George’s once again and they started to head out. “What should we do for dinner?” Karl’s mom worked late most nights so they were left on their own to look for food. They continued back to the car as George hummed contemplatively. 

“Do you wanna just make something back at the house?” he suggested.

“And by ‘you’ you mean both of us right?” Karl quipped, giving George a look. George rolled his eyes in what Karl took to be agreeance. One uneventful car ride home later, George and Karl found themselves staring at the open fridge, becoming increasingly discouraged. 

“Looks like pizza rolls again to me…” Karl said with a sigh and he opened the freezer door and pulled out the bag.

“Could be worse, I guess,” George shrugged. He turned to preheat the oven as Karl got out a pan. A bit later, George was seated on his bed with a plate full of pizza rolls. He thought he would be happy to have some time to himself after a long day of school and hanging out with Karl, but he found that his thoughts were much worse company. 

No matter how hard George tried, his mind kept playing the scene on loop. The boy joking around with his friends, George at a complete loss for words, feeling his face growing red, and finally those eyes. They were the thing that stuck in his head the most. It was kind of hard to enjoy dinner when that boy kept appearing in his thoughts. George had liked people before, he had even had a couple girlfriends, but he had never felt the same nervous jumble in his stomach that he had felt that afternoon.

For worse or better, this was something completely new. One thing George did know however, was that he couldn’t figure it out on his own. 

George paced back and forth outside Karl’s door, anxiously preparing himself for a conversation with Karl that he had barely had with himself. He spent at least five minutes relentlessly racking his brain on how to start this conversation. What would he say? How would Karl react? Why had he wanted to talk to Karl about this in the first place? Maybe he should just go, Karl was probably busy anyways-- Karl yanked open his door to find a distraught George outside his door. 

“Dude, are you like trying to get your steps in or something? Could you not pick a place besides right outside my door?” Karl faked annoyance, but he gave George a curious look.

He looked distraughtly at Karl before blurting, “Karl, I'm not straight.” George slapped a hand over his mouth, looking just as if not more surprised than Karl did. A thousand thoughts went through his head as he kept eye contact with Karl. Before the panic could fully set in Karl burst out laughing. 

“You thought you were straight?!” Karl screeched, “I thought we both knew you weren’t!” Karl was bent over laughing at this point and George felt himself blushing profusely for the second time that day. 

“Karl! What the hell?” George shouted before promptly storming down the hallway that led to his room. 

“George! Wait!” Karl tripped after George, tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. He caught up to George and yanked his arm to turn him around. “Please come back George, I am so sorry,” He didn’t look sorry.

“Karl! What is wrong with you? I open my heart up to you and you laugh at me?!” He was only half kidding. 

“Okay, okay I really am sorry, do you still want to talk to me about it?” Karl softened immediately. 

“I guess, but only because you’re my only option.” George finally smiled again as he said it. His mind was still racing, but he was still grateful to have Karl. 

He had never been seriously interested in people before, and when he had dated girls, it had always been because it was what was expected of him. Not that he was thinking of dating this boy… it was ridiculous to think that about someone you had only seen once… right?

“Hey!” Karl faked offense, “whatever, let's go to my room.” Karl half dragged half led George back to his room. He sat legs crossed on his bed and George sat with his legs hanging off the bed and his back half turned to Karl. He waited patiently as George tried to decide what he wanted to say. 

Karl finally broke the silence, too curious to wait any longer. After all, Karl had watched half of his classmates fall for George in the few months he had been at the high school, and George had shown no interest in any of them. “So, you like guys?” George held back an eye roll; Karl would start a conversation that way. 

“So, you knew I liked guys?” George retorted sarcastically, automatically put on the defense by the sensitive topic. Karl gave George a look and stuck out his tongue, but kept quiet to let George continue. “I don’t even know, Karl,” he sighed, “I’ve never really thought about it before, but-” George cut himself off as he thought again of the boy. It really took one look from a boy he had never even spoken to for him to decide his sexuality? 

“Wait a minute, George,” Karl looked at him sharply. 

George felt his nerves rise, “What?”

“This is about the person at the park isn’t it?!” Karl’s face lit up as George covered his. How did Karl always know what he was thinking? “It is! Oh my god, I knew something was up! I saw the way you were looking over there! It was the blonde one wasn’t it? You guys would be so cute together,” Karl beamed, getting slightly ahead of himself. 

Now it was George’s turn to look up, “What are you talking about, I’m never going to see him again!” He secretly wished that was a lie, but there was no way he was allowing himself to get his hopes up. 

“George!” Karl yanked George’s hoodie sleeve so that they were looking at each other. “We have to go back tomorrow!”

“I thought we were going to the bookstore tomorrow…”

“Consider all plans cancelled, this is so much more important!” Karl grinned. 

“Oh, whatever, I guess if you want to…” George agreed, scared to let on how much he really wanted to go back. Both of them sat in a comfortable silence before George spoke up. “Karl?” he asked in a quiet voice. He was still anxious, but the thought of going back to the skatepark the next day was making him feel better already. 

“Whats up?” 

“Never mind, it's dumb,” George rushed, obviously flustered. He trusted Karl but did he trust him this much?

“Come on, George, you know you can talk to me about anything you’re comfortable with,” Karl gave him a small grin.

“Well,” George stumbled over his words, “how did you, uh, how did you know?”

“Oh… well I guess when I became a teenager and all my friends found girls attractive, I just always liked guys instead. Does that make sense? It was never really a realization for me, I’ve just never looked at girls that way” Karl glanced at George before continuing, “I actually saw someone at the park too…”

The conversation quickly dissolved into more teasing and laughing about the boys, and continued on to topics revolving around going to the park the next day. Eventually Karl kicked George out of his room, saying something about getting his ‘beauty sleep’ and George left with a faint grin on his face. 

The conversation had gone much better than George had expected, but it still left him with a jumble of thoughts and feelings to sort through. He had never expected to feel this way about anyone, especially a boy, and he definitely never thought he’d have a friend like Karl to talk about these types of things with. Just the thought of seeing the boy again the next day made his stomach churn in a way he wasn't sure he liked. He knew he had no chance with the skater boy, but he let his thoughts wander as he collapsed into his bed and passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This next chapter is gonna be so good.... we might actually talk to some skater boys...
> 
> ((my tiktok is also existentialecho btw))


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karl and George go to the skatepark for the second day in a row in hopes of seeing some familiar faces...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahahah get ready for this one- it's a little bit longer so strap in
> 
> Your comments and kudos may be the only thing keeping me going so thank you so much for those and for just reading in general :)
> 
> that said, enjoy!

George woke up much earlier than he meant to. He rolled over just as the beginning of the sunrise began to peak through his blinds. He blinked a couple of times, trying to bring his mind into reality. It was one of those times where he knew he had a dream but the more he tried to remember it the farther it fleeted out of his grasp. He turned back over to lie on his back and found himself drifting off again. He was about to fall back asleep when his eyes shot open. The skatepark. They were going back today. His heart fluttered in a way that made him feel stupid, but the thought of possibly seeing the boy again that day had made him wide awake. He groaned as he let himself wallow in self-pity: He may be coming to terms with the fact that he likes guys, but that doesn't mean he had to fall for one that he had seen once and never talked to. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if the tan blonde had thought of him at all, but he immediately crushed the thought, chiding himself for even having it in the first place. 

Coming to terms with the fact that he was not going back to sleep, he rolled out of bed and dragged himself down the hall to the bathroom he and Karl shared. As he entered the bathroom he was caught off guard by his reflection in the mirror. Some might say he looked angelic in the dawn light, but he thought the word ghostly instead. He quickly went through his usual morning routine, doing it more out of muscle memory than any conscious effort. He had always been a good kid, doing what the world expected him to, but alone in the bathroom that morning, he let his mind wander to what his life could be. 

It took every muscle in his body to not wake Karl up and force him to make plans for the day, and instead, he occupied himself with working on an essay that was due the coming week. He stared blankly at the blinking cursor for what felt like hours. Finally, after typing approximately one sentence in an hour he got up and instead went to stand in front of his closet. 

After a bit of contemplating what he wanted to wear (and definitely not thinking about what would impress a certain skater boy the most), he decided on a pair of black skinny jeans paired with a light blue sweatshirt and a white collared shirt under it. By now it was about 9:30 and George decided Karl had slept enough. 

“Kaaaarrrrrl,” he drawled loudly, dragging out the boy’s name as he opened the door to Karl’s room and took the two strides to his bed. 

“George, what the hell?” Karl groaned through his pillow, only half-awake. George grinned at this response before picking up a pillow and eloquently whacking Karl on the head with it. 

“Oh my God, I'm up George! What do you want? What time is it?” Karl sat up, hair ruffled and a tired glare plastered on his face. 

“Oh chill, I was nice enough to not wake you up hours ago,” George rolled his eyes and flopped back down, “I’m lonely and bored, Karl, please stay awake.” Karl slowly sat up again and finally looked at George. 

“Geez, you’re clingy,” Karl grinned at his housemate and stretched. George rolled his eyes once again as Karl got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. 

“What were you doing up so early anyways?” Karl questioned, holding his toothbrush in his mouth. 

“Woke up early and couldn’t go back to sleep,” George shrugged, not willing to reveal to Karl how much he was actually thinking about the boy from the park the day prior. “You still want to go back to the park today?” George said, trying a little too hard to make it sound casual. 

Karl took his time rinsing his mouth out and putting his toothbrush up before turning to George. “You’re so far gone, dude,” he said with a smirk before promptly leaving the bathroom. George felt his face flush as he stared at the spot Karl had been standing. He whipped his head around and stumbled down the hall after Karl, tripping over his own feet. 

“Oh shut up, is that a yes?” George half-shouted after him, not even trying to cover up his desperation anymore. George had been up thinking about this for hours and of course Karl got to wake up and tease him about it. Maybe he should’ve let him sleep longer… 

George caught up with Karl who was now standing in front of his own closet. He nudged him and Karl finally turned to look at him, with that dumb grin still planted on his face. 

“Yes, we’re going back. How does five sound?” 

“Five?! PM?! That's so far away Karl,” George groaned, dragging out Karl’s name. 

“No five AM, George,” Karl deadpanned. Receiving a glare from George he continued, “If we go at five then we can hang out for a bit and then come back here for dinner. Besides, no one goes to the park early.” George pouted a bit, partially because he had to wait so long and partially because he knew Karl was right. 

The rest of the day dragged on as George aimlessly rotated between checking his phone time (way more often than was necessary), attempting to do schoolwork, annoying Karl while he attempted to do schoolwork, and scrolling through his phone pointlessly while ignoring the odd feelings that grew stronger as five PM grew nearer. 

At 4:30 Karl looked up to see George pacing into his room for the fifteenth time that day and throwing himself on the bed. 

“Karlllll, can we leave yet?” He begged, craning his neck to look at Karl, who was sitting at his desk. 

Karl looked at him for a long moment before speaking “Fine, go get your shoes on.” Karl couldn't help grinning as George sat up with a huge smile and basically skipped out of the room. How could he say no to that? Besides, he had his own reasons for wanting to go back to the park.

George was already waiting in the car when Karl slid into the driver’s seat. They exchanged a smile as Karl started the car and handed George the aux cord. “I swear this is the most excited I’ve ever seen you. He could not even be there so don’t get your hopes up too much,” he said, reminding himself as well as George. 

George nodded quickly. He had thought about that approximately a million times that day, but his hopes refused to stay down. He also felt inexplicably nervous. What’s the worst that could happen? The question was meant to be comforting, but his mind quickly spiraled to possible, terrible situations.

“Do you still want to get monster?” Karl glanced at him. George wanted to say no and get to the park as quickly as possible, but he decided he’d be okay either way. 

“Whatever you want to do,” George forced himself to say. 

“Uh-huh, we can just go to the park,” Karl smiled, seeing right through George’s response. Soon they were pulling into the lot of the park, both nervous, but Karl better at hiding it. Karl turned the car off and glanced at George who seemed frozen to the seat. A million thoughts were going through his head and he was lost in the maze of emotions they created. 

“You ready?” Karl prompted softly, sensing George’s nerves.

George let a small smile form on his face before turning to look at Karl. “Ready,” he confirmed.

His head spun a little bit as he stepped out of the car. He thought back to the day before when he had been in the same place, but much more put together, and much less giddy. He tried to calm himself a little bit as he once again was reminded that the boy could not even be there. Nevertheless, he found himself scanning the park as he and Karl made their way towards the skating area. 

He felt a pit grow in his stomach as they grew closer and there was still no sight of the group from yesterday. 

“They might come later,” Karl consoled him just before George suddenly stopped short and broke into an ear-to-ear grin. Karl whipped his head around to try to trace George’s stare and he spotted them too. It looked like the same people as the day before, except this time they were on the small hill (if you could even call it that) instead of across the park. The same hill that happened to be where George and Karl usually sat. This slowly dawned on both the boys and they turned to each other with shocked expressions. 

A million thoughts raced through George’s head so fast that he could hardly keep up. He dared to look back over at the group and his eyes were immediately drawn to the boy again. He was grinning at a shorter teen with black hair and a white bandana, the same one he had been wearing yesterday. George’s eyes slowly looked up and down the blonde, hardly believing he was actually there. He took in the boy’s ripped and patched gray jeans and the flannel he wore over a white graphic tee. He noted how good he looked in it before immediately blushing and scolding himself for the thought. He took a moment to memorize the way the boy’s almost shoulder-length wavy hair framed his face, and the way he would do anything to have that smile directed at him. He turned back to Karl once again, feeling guilty for just looking at the boy.

“What do we do?” he finally got out. For once Karl had no response. George wanted to watch the boy for the rest of the night, but the thought of talking to him made his stomach jump into his throat. How would he even start a conversation anyways: ‘Hey! My name’s George and we’ve never met before but I saw you yesterday and haven’t stopped thinking about you since. Oh! And you’re the reason I realized I’m gay, so thanks for that!’ He groaned internally just thinking about the situation he had put himself in before nudging Karl again. 

Karl looked a little shaken up and he answered slowly, as if he wasn’t the one suggesting the idea, “We can still sit in our spot.” George wasn’t sure what he expected Karl to say but it wasn’t that. The group was sitting down on the opposite stretch of grass, so Karl and George’s spot was about twenty feet away. “Come on,” Karl finally decided for both of them, “This is normal.” He attempted to convince them both. Karl tugged on George’s sweatshirt and they made their way to the spot. 

Karl was right, George thought to himself, this didn’t need to be a big deal. But even as he thought it he didn’t believe it. Karl and George spent a bit just sitting in silence, both trying to avoid awkwardly staring at the group. 

Eventually, Karl spoke up, “Are you gonna talk to him?” 

“No! Are you crazy? What would I say?” George said, eyes wide at the perfectly normal question. 

“Am I crazy? You’re the one that hasn’t shut up about him all day!” Karl teased with a giggle. “We can google ‘skater boy pick up lines,’” he joked. George laughed and elbowed him in the side, Karl feigned annoyance but he was just glad to relieve the tension a little bit. 

They sat around for a bit, talking about school, although it was clear both of them were very distracted. George wanted to talk to the boy, in fact, he could think of nothing else. Before George and Karl knew it, an hour had passed and they came back around to what they were both thinking. 

“So,” Karl started, “we’re too scared to go up to them, and that leaves one option.”

“And what’s that?” George asked, intrigued.

“We have to get them to notice us,” Karl smirked as he said it and George gave him a confused and hesitant look. 

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Well, I haven’t actually gotten that far… I was hoping you had something,” Karl mumbled. George laughed and shot the boy a look. 

“And I actually thought you had something good to say for once,” George scoffed, still smiling.

“Well, do you wanna walk around instead of sitting here anxiously?” Karl suggested. He had been getting rather antsy sitting still so close to the group.

George shrugged, “Sure, whatever.” They got up and walked over to the path that went around the skate park and started walking around. 

“I still can’t believe he’s here again,” George said thinking out loud. 

“Yeah me neither,” Karl said thoughtfully, “Yet you’re about to spend this whole night looking at him and not talking to him.” 

“Oh like you’re any better,” George teased. He soon found his eyes drifting back over to the group as he and Karl walked around. A couple of them had gotten up, but before George could spot them he felt something hit his back and he was pushed to the ground. 

“Tommy! I told you to pay attention!” came an unfamiliar voice. 

George opened his mouth in shock and pain, still trying to process why he was lying face down on the sidewalk. He started to push himself up off the pavement as he assessed the damage. He didn’t seem to be too hurt, maybe some scraped up knees and elbows, but he was more angry than physically pained. Before he could say anything, someone was kneeling down next to him talking at a million miles an hour. 

“Oh my God! I am so sorry man, are you okay? I wasn’t trying to hit you, I swear, I was just talking to Tubbo. Have you met Tubbo? Probably not, he’s the reason I crashed so blame him. Are you okay? Can you talk? Did I break your vocal cords? God, I am so sorry! Can you get up? Did I hurt you?” At this point the boy was helping George up and was brushing off his shoulder when George finally got a good look at the boy, noting his red and white striped shirt. The boy definitely looked familiar, but he couldn’t place where he had seen him before.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just watch where you’re going,” he shot back, still trying to catch up with what the boy said. A boy in overalls and a green sweatshirt came running up. 

“Tommy! What is wrong with you?! That’s like the second person this week!” At this point, the boy turned to George, “I am so sorry, did he hurt you?” 

“N-no,” George stuttered, suddenly nervous as his anger wore off, “I’m okay.”

The boy in the green sweatshirt turned back to the fluffy-haired blonde, apparently named Tommy, and continued to scold him. George and Karl exchanged a glance, not sure what to do next. 

“Fine, fine!” the kid apparently named Tommy said, turning to George, “Tubbo doesn’t think I apologized so I’m sorry.” 

“Tommy! That was terrible!” The shorter boy named Tubbo said, “God, I am so sorry, wait what’s your name?” Tubbo directed this comment at George.

“Um, I’m George, and it’s really okay, I’m not hurt,” George assured, ready to be done with the situation. They had caused quite a scene at this point, and George was feeling faint from all the eyes on him. He glanced nervously back at Tommy and that’s when it hit him. Tommy and Tubbo were a part of the group with the blonde boy. He sat in slight shock as the two boys continued to argue.

“See Tubbo! He’s fine, stop scolding me now! It’s partially your fault anyways!”

“How is it my fault?!”

“Our mate George here doesn’t even care, do you, George?” Tommy didn’t wait long enough for George to respond before continuing, “What do you want me to do? I said sorry! They said they don’t care, now stop making me apologize! What do you want me to do?”

George leaned over to urgently whisper in Karl’s ear, “They know the boy, Karl.” Karl’s look of confusion quickly passed onto one of understanding as he realized what George meant. He regretted telling Karl almost immediately, however, as a mischievous grin came onto his face. 

“Do either of you have a bandaid?” Karl asked innocently, interrupting the boy’s bickering as he grabbed George’s wrist and held up his arm so that Tommy and Tubbo could see his elbow, which was in fact bleeding. George yanked his wrist from Karl’s hand and shot him a look. 

Tubbo looked at Tommy smugly, waiting for him to answer.

Tommy rubbed the back of his neck and looked anywhere but at Karl, “Uh, about that… can’t say I do…” he paused before his face lit up again, “But, but! Wilbur does! I’m sure he will! Come on boys, I’ll get you fixed up, uh, George was it?” George nodded vacantly and felt his eyes widen as Tommy led them towards the strip of grass. He began to panic even more as he realized they were headed straight for the group and his eyes darted to the blonde boy who was leaning against a tree. 

Tommy continued to babble on to Tubbo about something or the other as they got closer to the group. “Ey, Wilbur!” Tommy called out when they were about ten feet away. The boy in the maroon beanie glanced up from his phone, which he was holding out to the pink-haired girl, showing her something. He gave Tommy a questioning glance as his eyes fell on the two strangers following Tommy and Tubbo, and he made his way over to meet them halfway. George felt himself grow slightly pink under the man’s gaze, embarrassed by the whole situation. 

“The fuck have you done now, Tommy?” he questioned as the four boys came to a stop in front of him. 

“I ran him over with my skateboard but it was Tubbo’s fault,” Tommy got out as quickly as possible.

“Was not!” Tubbo insisted as Wilbur’s gaze switched to him. George felt like he shouldn’t be a part of this conversation as he and Karl awkwardly stood behind Tommy and Tubbo. 

Wilbur finally looked at Karl and George, “Shit guys, I am so sorry about the children here,” he shot them a look before continuing, “My name's Wilbur, and this is Niki” The tall boy gestured to the girl behind him and she lifted a hand to greet them. 

“I’m George,” he said, his voice coming out slightly less shakily than he expected. 

“Karl,” Karl said with a small wave.

“Oh my God Wilbur, we’re not here for pleasantries, you got any bandaids?” Tommy demanded, tired of being quiet. Wilbur punched the boy in the arm, before reaching over to grab his bag. 

“Let the adults talk, Tommy,” Wilbur shot, as he rummaged through his bag, “Here you are,” he extended a couple of bandaids to George. “Here, sit down,” Wilbur led him back over to the strip of grass and George was suddenly hyper-aware of how close the blonde boy was to him. He sat down and was now across the circle about five feet from the blonde boy. This knowledge alone made him lightheaded, and he fixated his eyes on the bandaids he was holding. 

Wilbur gestured for George and Karl to sit down and they did, George keeping his eyes on the ground the entire time. He was scared that if he looked up at the boy who was now so close to him, he would never look away. George began unwrapping the bandaids just as the boys across from them finally took notice of George and Karl. 

“Uh, who are these two?” The boy with the white bandana said, gesturing to the boys. 

“Wow Sapnap, don’t be too friendly,” Wilbur said sarcastically, “This is Karl and George, Tommy ran George over with his skateboard so I’m helping him.”

George blushed at the wording and gave a small wave to the boys, still refusing to make eye contact. Karl wasn’t so shy. 

“Did he just call you Sapnap? What kind of name is that?” he blurted. George winced at his bluntness, but the boy apparently called Sapnap just grinned and George thought he saw him exchange a look with the blonde boy before continuing. 

“Hey! It’s a nickname, you can blame this idiot for that one,” He said, elbowing the boy sitting next to him, he turned to Wilbur and gestured towards Karl, “I like this one.” George thought he saw Karl go a little red at that. Before George could process it too much, however, someone was speaking to him.

“Hey dude, George was it?” George’s head whipped up and he made eye contact with Sapnap. It took every bit of his efforts to not let his eyes stray to the boy sitting beside Sapnap.

“Yeah, it was. It is!” George stuttered, reaching peak nervousness as he knew the blonde boy’s eyes were on his face. 

Sapnap let out a laugh before continuing, “It’s okay dude, we don’t bite, except maybe Dream here but we won’t let him get to you.” George allowed himself to look at the boy, apparently called Dream, for the first time since he had sat down. His eyes traced down the boy's face, hinging on his high cheekbones and briefly flicking to his soft-looking lips, as he turned towards Sapnap. 

“You’re so weird dude, just shut up,” Dream grumbled, elbowing Sapnap’s side. 

Sapnap raised his eyebrows at George and he tore his eyes away from Dream’s face. “What’d I tell you?” Sapnap said, holding a hand up as if he were telling George a secret and Dream wasn’t right beside him. 

George just smiled and let out a small laugh. 

“It’s dinner time boys!” came a loud voice from behind him, as Tommy and Tubbo rejoined the group. 

“That’s not up to you! You can’t even drive,” Wilbur smirked, as the others joined in on the teasing, “Now who’s ready for dinner?” Wilbur said as if he were the one to think of the genius idea. Everyone agreed with him and started collecting their things. 

Tommy suddenly slung an arm around George and he felt himself tense up. “Can we bring our new friends?” Tommy directed the question at Wilbur and George felt himself once again flush at the young boy’s bluntness. Wilbur however, directed his gaze to Dream, silently repeating the question. Dream only shrugged before reaching down to help Sapnap up. 

“That’s a yes in my book!” Tommy said, louder than necessary, he turned to Karl and George, “What do you say, boys?” Karl and George exchanged a glance, coming to a silent agreement. 

“Why not?” Karl said, and Tommy let out a loud whoop, babbling about something or the other as he quickly helped George and Karl up. 

As he stood up, George felt a pair of eyes on him and he glanced up only to find Dream looking at him. He felt his heart stop, and Dream smirked before turning away to head towards the lot. What had George gotten himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see you soon with the next chapter B) 
> 
> shoutout to my best friend for hyping me up and making me want to keep writing and brainstorming with me


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK TOO LONG I WAS IN A CAR WRECK AND SCHOOL HAS BEEN CRAZY
> 
> I'll try to be better in the future...
> 
> anyways, things are getting interesting

Somehow, Tubbo and Tommy had ended up in Karl’s car. He had been hoping to talk to Karl on the way to the restaurant, or at least have some time to mentally prepare himself for whatever the night was going to be, but instead, he found himself listening to Tubbo and Tommy (mostly Tommy) argue and rant about something undoubtedly dumb.

“Tubbo! Are you sure you didn’t take my CDs?” Tommy yelled after shutting the door to the car. They were seemingly continuing an ongoing argument, but George couldn’t care less as his mind raced.

“What? Why would I have your CDs, Tommy? I think Dream has them…”

“What?!” Tommy exclaimed. 

At this point, Karl was pulling out of the parking lot, closely following The group's cars out. Sapnap and Dream were riding together in Dream’s car, and Wilbur and Niki were riding in Wilbur’s car. George chose to zone out the younger boys in the back in favor of contemplating everything that had happened that night, and everything that could happen. He was still in shock that he was about to spend more time with the blonde boy, who he now knew as Dream. Of course, his nickname was Dream, George thought, sighing aggressively at how ironic the name was.

Karl seemed much too smug with himself, George noticed as he glanced over at him. He didn't know how to feel about Karl right then. On one hand, Karl was the greatest person in the world for getting him to a place where he could talk to Dream, but on the other hand, he was the reason George was now sitting in the passenger seat of Karl’s car, wanting to melt away into the seat and never talk to another person again. Over the past half an hour, he had made a bad habit of anxiously running his hands through his hair. As he found himself doing it once again he suddenly became self-conscious of the state of his hair and he quickly pulled down the car shader and adjusted it in the mirror. He was a nervous wreck. How was Karl so calm? He thought he saw Karl smirk at his nervousness but decided he had more important things to worry about at that moment. He would have plenty of time to tell Karl off later. 

Even if George hadn’t hopelessly fallen for someone in the group he would’ve been nervous. They were about to go to dinner with a bunch of complete strangers! 

Just knowing that Dream was aware that he existed, and now knew his name, brought George to unheard-of levels of nervousness. Why the hell had they been invited to dinner in the first place? Despite all of this, George couldn’t help feel excited, although it was buried under a tangle of anxiety. 

As they stopped at a light, Karl glanced over at George and elbowed him a little. Karl said softly, “You okay?”

George gave him a nervous grin, still slightly lost in thought, “Yeah, I think so,” A short moment passed between them, filled with the argument from the backseat before George thought to speak again. But before he could say something, they pulled into the parking lot and parked next to Wilbur’s car.

George gave Karl another nervous grin before opening the door and stepping out of the car. They filed out slightly behind the rest of the group, Tommy and Tubbo following behind George and Karl. As soon as they got out of the car George did three things. First, he scanned ahead of them to look for Dream (who was walking next to Sapnap a few feet ahead), and secondly looked around to see where they were eating. Thirdly, he mentally punched himself for the order in which he had done the first two things. How had his priorities ended up like this?

The place the group had chosen was a small pizza parlor. As they made it to the entrance and Wilbur held the door open as the large group filed in.

It took George’s eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lights inside the small parlor. It smelled heavenly and George vaguely wondered how he had never been there before. Booths lined the perimeter of the restaurant, all with dim, warm lights hung above them, and the walls were adjourned with movie posters from various 80s movies. String lights were hung along the sides of the walls, and across the low ceiling. Despite being a room with at least 15 tables, the parlor had a very cozy, safe feel to it. It was about six PM, so the pizza parlor was very full, with distant, quiet convos drifting around the room. 

George snapped his head to the front as a waiter addressed them.

“Party of six?” The young man asked, addressing Dream at the front of the group.

“Actually, we have eight today,” Dream gave Karl and George a glance from the side, and George was once again reminded of the situation he was in. The waiter nodded and gestured for the group to follow him. 

He led them to a corner booth in the far back of the room, underneath a framed Pulp Fiction poster. They filed in around the small circular table. George ended up with Karl at the end on his left, and the pink-haired girl, who he was pretty sure was named Niki, on his right. By her sat Wilbur then Tommy and Tubbo, with Dream and Sapnap sitting directly across from George and Karl. 

“Hey, Gog?” He heard Tommy’s accented voice shout out from the middle of the booth. 

“Are you talking to me?” George asked, receiving a laugh from the table. He knew the answer because of Tommy’s expectant glance but was completely taken aback by the nickname.

“Yes, you! Gogy, Gogmeister, Gog, which one do you prefer? I personally think I’ll go with Gogy…” Tommy said, pretending to contemplate the nicknames.

“Why can’t you just call me George?”

“Oh come on, Gogy, that's boring! We have Sappy, Big D, Tub, and Wilby! I’m only trying to help you fit in.” George sat processing the nicknames for a moment, left speechless by the young boy’s boldness. Tommy took the silence as acceptance. “Ok then, Gog, what kind of pizza do you and Karl like?”

Karl had been talking to Sapnap and whipped his head around at the mention of his name. “What’s up?” he asked, directing the question at George. He gave Karl a curious look and subtly gestured towards Sapnap, but Karl just shrugged. 

“Sorry, Karl! Didn’t mean to interrupt you and um Sapnap over there…” Tommy said, making over-exaggerated wide eyes and glancing between the two. 

“Shut up, dude, you’re so weird!” Sapnap insisted, reaching across the table to punch Tommy. George swore he saw Sapnap and Karl both blushing, but it was hard to tell in the dim light. 

“Chill, chill!” Tommy screeched, scooting away from Sapnap, “Just wanted to know what kinda pizza George and Karl liked.” He held up his hands in a surrendering gesture and Sapnap rolled his eyes before looking back at Karl. 

“We’re good with anything,” Karl glanced at George for approval and George nodded. The waiter came at just this time and took their order, again addressing Dream to tell him. 

Speaking of Dream, George had been keeping a subtle eye on the boy since they had gotten there. He noticed how Dream spent most of the dinner smirking at something on his phone and occasionally showing it to Sapnap. Finally, Dream looked up and put his phone away to glance around the table and decide which conversation was most interesting to him. 

George quickly looked away and pretended to check something on his phone. He took this moment to once again curse Karl, this time for getting along with Sapnap so well. The two were talking intently and quietly to each other, leaving George with no one else. Dream had apparently decided to involve himself in talking to Tommy, Tubbo, and Wilbur about something apparently involving drugs and Minecraft. 

George was prevented from finding out more about this conversation by someone softly nudging his side. He turned his head and found Niki looking at him with that soft smile. Despite her small demeanor and soft features, her gaze still made him nervous. She had a sharpness in her eyes that George couldn’t quite place, but he knew she was much smarter than she let on. 

“I know we might seem intimidating, but I promise we’re all a bunch of idiots,” Niki said softly, so no one else heard them. Her voice sounded exactly how he thought it would, and George noticed her slight accent, though he couldn’t place it.

He allowed himself a small grin, “Am I really that obvious?” He hadn’t realized he looked as anxious as he felt.

Niki’s nose scrunched up a little before she leaned a little closer to answer him, “No, but I know a crush when I see one.” George’s eyes went wide and he pulled away, but before he could say anything the waiter came with their food. 

He made eye contact with Dream once again as the waiter set the pizza’s down, and he quickly looked down at his lap. When he looked up again, he felt Dream’s eyes on him. Before he could think too much of this, Tommy was yelling again.

“Time to feast, boys!” he stood up and said this much too loudly, drawing looks from people in the parlor, “and girl.” He awkwardly directed the last bit at Niki, and she just rolled her eyes and glanced at George who grinned. The small gesture made him feel like he was slightly more included, and he was so grateful to Niki for it. 

“Sit down, Tommy!” Dream said, pulling him down forcefully by the sleeve. Everyone laughed as Tommy pretended to pout. At this very moment the smell of the large pizzas in front of him drifted to George’s nose and with a sudden grumble in his stomach, he realized just how hungry he was. He had been so distracted by everything that had happened in the day that he hadn’t eaten much. 

The rest of the meal went by fast enough, incredible pizza with a side of awkward eye contact and smirks and nudges from Niki. The food was amazing, but George was distracted by two things. The first one was obviously Dream, and the second, less obviously, was Sapnap and Karl. The latter had pulled up a chair so he could sit closer to Sapnap and the way they were looking at each other made George wonder if Karl even remembered he was there. 

Apparently, Karl did know he was there cause he turned to George, who was mid-bite, and whispered in his ear: “I think we’re gonna go for a drive.” 

George almost choked on his pizza, and as he recovered he turned to Karl in shock. “Wh- what?” he stuttered out.

Karl let out a cackle followed by a lopsided grin before he stood and gave a salute to the table before turning to Sapnap. George continued to stare, mouth slightly opened, as Sapnap took Karl’s arm and led them to the front door. The rest of the group didn’t take much notice of it, and if they did they didn’t seem too surprised by the event. 

What the hell had just happened? And what was Karl in for? George watched the pair walk out the front door, linked closely together, Sapnap whispering something in Karl’s ear and Karl giggling. This was not the way George had expected this night to go. 

He turned back to the table just in time to see Dream and Wilbur exchange a glance, Dream giving Wilbur an exaggerated eye roll. 

The rest of the meal was uneventful if you can call Tommy throwing crackers at everyone at the table uneventful. George was constantly distracted by Dream, but he spent most of his time awkwardly checking his phone to find no messages and talking to anyone but Dream. George was hyper-aware of Dream, glancing in his direction every time he spoke, and making sure not to look at him too much. Every time he made eye contact with Dream, he panicked, wondering if Dream saw right through him and already knew how much George liked him. He was slightly uncomfortable with the whole situation anyways. Now that he was the only stranger in the group, he felt like an intruder.

Eventually, they all finished dinner and began standing up, getting ready to leave. Apparently, it was Wilbur’s turn to pay, and he refused to let George pay his part, insisting that George could pay next time. George was startled by the prospect of there being a next time. Did these people actually like him? Or did they just feel bad for him?

As George stood up, a horrible realization hit him, making his stomach sink. His eyes slowly drifted from where Karl had been sitting to the parking lot where Karl’s car no longer was, and then to Dream, who was already looking at him with that stupid, hot smirk on his face.

“Need a ride?” he asked quietly. They were standing a couple of feet from each other right next to the booth they had eaten at, but of course, George heard him. George had a hard time coming up with a response to the much too casual question, flustered and shocked by Dream actually addressing him for the first time.

“Um… I guess I do,” George replied nervously. Dream pulled his keys out of his pocket and turned to walk towards the front door, leaving George to stare at his back, processing this turn of events. The rest of the group followed after Dream, and Niki once again nudged George, startling him out of his shock. 

“Let’s go,” she wrapped her arm around George’s bicep and led him to the front of the restaurant and out into the parking lot where everyone else was already waiting. 

They chatted for a minute before all heading their separate ways, and George didn’t notice Dream looking at Niki’s arm around his. George did not hear a single thing anyone said, as he had been sent into another round of gay panic at the thought of the car ride ahead of him. 

Wilbur was driving Niki, Tommy, and Tubbo, and they all left together. Niki gave George a thumbs up before turning around and following Wilbur. This left Dream and George standing alone in the parking lot near the pizza parlor. 

“I’m parked over there,” Dream told George, gesturing with his head before quickly turning around, obviously expecting George to follow him. George nodded, even though Dream couldn’t see him, and followed the blonde to his car. George couldn’t help looking at Dream as they walked the short distance to his car, and with a blush, George realized how much taller and bigger Dream was than himself. Dream unlocked the car as they got closer and slid into the driver’s seat as George awkwardly opened the other door and sat in the passenger’s seat. 

George was usually pretty okay at reading people, but he had no idea what Dream was thinking at that point. George found his eyes drawn to Dream’s hands as he put the keys in the ignition and then moved one of them to the gear shift. 

“George, right?” George’s eyes flickered up to Dream’s face as he realized Dream had turned to look at him. Had Dream seen him watching? George tensed up more as Dream placed a hand on his seat so he could turn around and check behind him before pulling out. George could think of nothing else but how close Dream's hand was to him. 

“Um, yeah it’s George,” he mumbled. Dream looked away as he pulled out of the parking lot. George found himself once again admiring Dream’s features, now that Dream was looking away. His eyes traced down the boy’s side profile, admiring the way his fluffy hair looked under the streetlights. His eyes settled on Dream’s sharp jawline just as Dream glanced over at him.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly. George was surprised by how low and concerned his voice sounded. The other times he had heard Dream speak had been different. Now he sounded more thoughtful, he still sounded reserved, but different than how he presented himself to the group.

George looked down at his hands, “Yeah, I’m okay, just a little overwhelmed, I think.” 

Dream chuckled at this. “Yeah, I get that. Those idiots can be a lot at first, but you’ll get used to it.” George’s head whipped up to look at Dream. This was the second time someone had mentioned him hanging out with the group more, but it felt different when Dream said it.

“Get used to it…?” George echoed, not really meaning to say it out loud.

“Don’t let it go to your head. It seems like Sapnap has taken a liking for your friend,” Dream smirked to himself at this. George was disappointed in this reasoning but still excited by the possibilities. As they entered George’s neighborhood and stopped at a stop sign, George realized something.

“Hey, I never told you where I live…” George said, giving Dream an inquisitive look. 

“Oh shit! I’m an idiot, I just took us to my neighborhood,” Dream glanced apologetically at George, “I’m so sorry George do you live far…?” Dream trailed off as he took note of George’s shocked expression. 

This wasn’t Dream’s neighborhood, it was his own… He slowly came to the next big realization of the night: he lived in the same neighborhood as Dream.

“You good?” Dream asked, growing slightly uncomfortable under George’s shocked gaze. 

“This is my neighborhood,” George said slowly.

“Oh,” Dream said equally as slowly, “Oh.” he repeated as the full weight of the statement settled on him. He cleared his throat and glanced back at the road. “Um, which house is yours?” 

George gestured to the right, “It’s the corner house right there, me and Karl actually live together.”

Dream turned right and they both spent a moment in contemplative silence as he pulled into George’s driveway. George vaguely noted that Karl wasn’t back yet. 

“My house is just a couple streets that way,” Dream gestured lazily gestured down the street opposite where they had come from.

“Oh, okay,” George said awkwardly, his mouth not able to keep up with his brain. They sat in silence for a moment. George wanted to say something but couldn’t formulate a single coherent, socially acceptable thought. 

As he reached for the car door, Dream spoke instead, “I’m glad you came tonight, George.” The simple words left him speechless. George opened his mouth a couple of times, his mind racing as he tried not to let the millions of thoughts in his head bubble out. 

He finally went with an easy answer, too scared to give anything more away; “Thanks, Dream.” He opened the door of the car and stepped out. As he turned around to shut the door, he glanced at Dream again and then at his feet. “Me too.” He shut the car door and let out a sigh. 

He made his way to his front door, using all his willpower not to turn around. However, as he came to the door, he finally broke and turned around as he reached for the door handle. He waved from the door, not sure if Dream was looking or not. 

He turned back around as Dream backed out of his driveway and George stepped into the house. As soon as he made it inside, he shut the door and leaned his back against the door as he slowly slid down to sit with his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his temples for a moment before looking up into the empty hallway and letting out a sigh, before breaking into a huge smile. What a fucking night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and critiques are appreciated :]


End file.
